SNEAK PREVIEWBy Robert Sadler

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Mr. Edwards, sir. I am terribly sorry to bother you, but you

have a call.

Sir, He says his name is covian. He said you’ve

been waiting for his call.Being sorry does not excuse the fact that you are paging me despite being told that i was

not to be bothered this afternoon.

...Put him thr0ugh, Allison...and trace the call.

PROLOGUEAnother Greedy,

Naive Man�

I presume you know who I am, Mr. Edwards, with all the

homework you’ve been doing recently. And I know what

you are looking for.

Something that you will never have.

I could make you a rich man, Covian. We could change the world

and the way people live in it.

Let’s get one thing straight, I’ve been around long enough to see through your bullshit. You don’t give a shit

about the world. You would study me, get what you need, and kill me. And we both know that what you learned would

not be put to good use. Don’t think for a second that i don’t know about

the two unlucky fools that you keep locked in those dark cells.

You have me all wrong, my friend.

Shit!

Did you get a location?

I did, sir. The call came from Rome.

and what might that be?

Edwards Speaking...

You will never find me sherman. Don’t even bother trying. many men have sought what you are now seeking.

Greedy, naive men. let it go.

I cannot do that covian. you know that i am a man of great means and if i want something, i will have it. i would prefer it if i did not have to

display to you how true that statement is. should you change

your mind, my offer...

Good. Prepare Roland for the trip and call the

pilot. Tell him he can expect us within the hour.

yes, sir.

� �

You’re mine, you son of a bitch. you can only run for so long.

And when I learn your

secrets, nothing will

stop me.

�

You’re in a cell. They brought you in

here a few hours ago. At least I think

it was...when you’ve been in the dark for

as long as me, your perception slips

a bit. And they keep it plenty dark. Can’t risk turning the lights on. Not with

me around. It could mess up

everything. Or so they tell me.

Wha...What the...?

Where am i? Hello!!!! can anyone hear me!?!?

IT’S NO USE, SAVE

YOUR BREATH.

WHO’S THERE?

WHERE AM I?

WHO TELLS YOU? WHAT THE FUCK ARE

YOU TALKING ABOUT? YOU BETTER START

TELLING ME HOW THE HELL I GOT HERE OR

I’LL COME OVER THERE AND MAKE YOU.

WE’RE NOT IN THE SAME CELL, BUT

I APPRECIATE YOUR THREATS. IT’S

ENTERTAINING. I HAVEN’T HAD MUCH HUMAN

CONTACT SINCE I GOT HERE. ‘COURSE YOU

MIGHT NOT EVEN BE REAL. WOULD’T BE THE

FIRST TIME I’VE HEARD VOICES IN HERE.

AM I RAMBLING? IT’S JUST THAT...

SHUT THE HELL UP AND ANSWER MY QUESTIONS!!!

I DON’T KNOW HOW YOU

GOT HERE. SHIT, IF IT’S AT

ALL LIKE THE WAY I GOT

HERE, I FEEL TERRIBLY

SORRY FOR YOU.OK...BUT YOU WON’T BELIEVE

ME. I KNOW I WOULDN’T...WELL, WHY DON’T YOU FILL

ME IN ON HOW YOU GOT

HERE. MAYBE SOMETHING

WILL RING A BELL.

CHAPTER ONEThe Veil

�

This all happened 3, maybe 4 months ago. Like I said, time has been a blur in here.

I try to keep track, ya know, but its so dark that I can’t even see the damn hatch

marks I scratch in the wall.

I woke up like any other

day. The night before...

for now lets just say I

“had a nightmare.” I’d

been “having nightmares”

regularly and they were

always the same.

I guess.

You guess? You either have or

haven’t...Nevermind, it doesn’t

matter. That morning I did.

and i was right.

my dad....

fuck....

Neal! why are you

up so early? did the

music wake you?

I specifically remember sitting

up in my bed knowing that the

day was gonna be a bitch. You

ever feel like that?

Nah, you know how

soundproof these

walls are. you could be

having a rock concert down here and i wouldn’t

hear a thing.

Sorry. my dad was making

breakfast downstairs.

YAWN

10 11

Im up because I need

to meet adam before

he goes to work.

I left my phone over his

house last night. I swear

my mind is slipping lately.Stop being rediculous.

you’re mind is doing

just fine.

wow, i was expecting you to

say “is your mind slipping

because you’re on drugs?”

you’re slacking old man.

First of all, i’m not

old, punkass. second,

i know you’re clean.

How can you be so sure? shit,

i could be smoking crack in

the woods out back and you

wouldn’t have a clue.

Sir, yes sir.

Wiseass. hey listen,

mr. edwards invited me over

to his house for dinner

tonight, so i won’t be home

until around nine. theres

leftover steak in the fridge,

or you can make something

else. i just went food

shopping so there should

be something.

trust me, i know. and

don’t talk like that.

and why

is that?

1� 13

He gave us this house so i could

have lab facilities whenever i

need them. he’s a good guy, Neal.

And his company is doing work that

is really making a difference

in the world.

did i tell you that we just...

yeah, Ill figure somethinig

out. i don’t know how the hell

you can go over there all the

time. that guy creeps me out.

Exactly my point. what

kind of boss moves out

of his house so that an

employee can move in.

no one is that nice.

“that guy” is the

reason you wake

up in this enormous

house every day.

SO I HAVE

TOLD YOU.

“successfully altered

Mr. edwards’ brain so

that he can now see

through echo location”

sure have.

Allright, I gotta

get going. I’ll talk

to you later kid.Bye dad. make

sure you take your

crucifix so mr. edwards

can’t hurt you!

That’s enough neal! i

don’t want to hear you

say one more negative

thing about Mr. Edwards!

he has helped me more

than you know! Am i making

myself clear?

he had actually told me twice. he had been acting strange for weeks. had me worried.

he seemed like he was in a daze, always forgetting things. I figured he was just working

too hard. or maybe that he was stressed because of my mother and brother.

what happened with them? I’ll get to that.

14 15

My father was a neuroscientist, you

follow?. He worked for a company

called “Atlas Neuroscience”. stupid

name, don’t ya think?. They developed

cures for various brain-related

conditions. The company was getting

a lot of press lately for the work

they were doing. Every week they

were announcing huge breakthroughs

in the field of neuroscience.

Chill out, it was just a joke.

what’s your problem?

whatever, bye.

I’Ll see you tonight.

You are a very impatient listener.

Ill tell you when it’s time.

He snapped out of nowhere. I always made jokes about Edwards,

but all of the sudden he was starting to get defensive. It was

right there the whole time and I didn’t even see what was happening.

What do you mean?

what was happening?

16

What I just told you...that morning...

it haunts me every goddamn day.

if you had any fucking clue what has happened to me, what was still happening, you would shut the fuck up and let me

finish my story!!!

Are you going to get to the

point or are you just gonna

talk about breakfast until

we die in here?

.........

go ahead.

I woke up like any other

day. The night before...

for now lets just say I

“had a nightmare.” I’d

been “having nightmares”

regularly and they were

always the same.

It was a veil. none of it was real.

I mean, it really happened, but

it wasn’t right. can i continue my

story? at my own pace, please?

You already told

me this part.

17

did i?

Well that’s what happens when

you interrupt my story. did I

get to the part where the guy

yells at me?

Jesus christ! yes you did. please

don’t make me listen to you go

through breakfast again.

The guy? you mean your

dad? man, what the hell is

wrong with your head? yes,

that was the last thing

you told me.

Allright, let me think...

ok, I remember where i

was. so after that...

18

THE VEILTo Be Continued